This is the book I am following.
Another good read.
I like this one also.
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
Jan 8
“We must give up many things to which we are addicted, considering them to be good. Otherwise, courage will vanish, which should continually test itself. Greatness of soul will be lost, which can’t stand out unless it disdains as petty what the mob regards as most desirable.
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 74.12b–13
What am I addicted to? I really like my job and the paycheck lets me indulge in my great addiction, my truck. Am I also addicted to my really nice house on a lake? If I hold this to be the greatest good, do I lose myself? After realizing this might not end, am I ready to lose all this if I refuse the booster? Right now the answer is yes, and I don’t think that will change. If I remain addicted to my financial status and stability, my courage will vanish.
Jan 9
“Some things are in our control, while others are not. We control our opinion, choice, desire, aversion, and, in a word, everything of our own doing. We don’t control our body, property, reputation, position, and, in a word, everything not of our own doing. Even more, the things in our control are by nature free, unhindered, and unobstructed, while those not in our control are weak, slavish, can be hindered, and are not our own.”
—EPICTETUS, ENCHIRIDION, 1.1–2
This ties back to knowing what is under your control and what is an external element. It is hard to accept the fact I don’t control my body, but it is reminding me of that fact right now. I also struggle with the fact I don’t control my place in the world. I have come a long way since I was first married and poor, and I am trying to realize if I have to start over, it won’t kill me. I have to understand that’s possible and be ready to deal with the consequences.
Jan 10
“The essence of good is a certain kind of reasoned choice; just as the essence of evil is another kind.
What about externals, then? They are only the raw material for our reasoned choice, which finds its own
good or evil in working with them. How will it find the good? Not by marveling at the material! For if
judgments about the material are straight that makes our choices good, but if those judgments are twisted, our choices turn bad.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.29.1–3
Is the outside world evil? What choices do I make? Are they made using logic and an understanding of what’s under my control? Whatever the world throws at me, sometimes the only thing I have an option in is how do I respond. I’m not always proud of my responses, I still have an unreasoning rage sometimes, so I use this as a reminder that twisted reason makes twisted choices.
Jan 11
“For if a person shifts their caution to their own reasoned choices and the acts of those choices, they
will at the same time gain the will to avoid, but if they shift their caution away from their own reasoned
choices to things not under their control, seeking to avoid what is controlled by others, they will then be
agitated, fearful, and unstable.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.1.12
If I am careful about the choices I make and am fully aware of the consequences of them, it helps me to stay calm and not be worried about the things I can’t control. On the other hand, if I spend a lot of energy and time trying to influence things not under my control, that would add a lot of unnecessary stress.
Jan 12
“Keep this thought at the ready at daybreak, and through the day and night—there is only one path to
happiness, and that is in giving up all outside of your sphere of choice, regarding nothing else as your
possession, surrendering all else to God and Fortune.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.4.39
Remember daily not to stress over things you have no control over. If you can make your choices and live with them, no matter what happens you can still be happy. Even in a more challenging environment, and even if it’s not fair. I am trying to get to this point, it seems liberating and scary.
Jan 13
“We control our reasoned choice and all acts that depend on that moral will. What’s not under our
control are the body and any of its parts, our possessions, parents, siblings, children, or country—
anything with which we might associate.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.22.10
As a father, this was a difficult truth to learn. My daughter turned 17 and went insane. My wife and I tried, but we couldn’t do much and as soon as she turned 18 she moved out and married her POS boyfriend.(She’s good now) My mom is currently refusing to see us because my wife isn’t vaccinated. At least I got lucky with my brothers, we all get along great. But I’ve heard and seen enough horror stories to know that is not due to anything in my control, they could be jerks no matter what I do. It’s hard to admit, but all my possessions could disappear tomorrow, regardless of my actions. As far as the country goes, I don’t recognize it from just a few years ago.
Jan 14
“Understand at last that you have something in you more powerful and divine than what causes the
bodily passions and pulls you like a mere puppet. What thoughts now occupy my mind? Is it not fear,
suspicion, desire, or something like that?”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 12.19
I am trying to be aware of the click bait headlines and slanted news stories designed to drum up outrage. That goes double for the ones on “my ” side. It’s easier to be fooled by them because I am already leaning that way. If I let them manipulate me, then I have lost my ability to make a rational decision.
Angus! Angus! My favorite AC?DC song
I’m enjoying these, Ron (and last night’s contribution). Thanks!
Hope your balls are doing OK.
I’m not sure, still have swelling, and the Dr. wants to wait a few more weeks and then do a scan.
But I’m glad you like the articles.
I am addicted to sugar. I found this last week and was really reminded that it is my choice to break when “discomfort shows up”.
I think being “addicted” to one’s necessities (however lovely they may be) is stretching that word so far it’ll break.
Regarding children: In my church, the age of accountability is 8. My aunt always said that what they choose to do after that is their problem. I think 8 is way too young. I think after 18 you have to wash your hands of the choices they make. My mother is dismayed by some of the choices my siblings and I make, and she grieves for us when we encounter hardship (whether as a result of those choices or not). I will never not worry about my daughter driving on our icy streets.
My mother is dismayed by some of the choices my siblings and I make – you should write biographies?
By comparison to some of the stunts my brothers have pulled (as adults) (they were perfect angels growing up while I was the troublesome one), my writing is the least of her dismay.
I will assume she wanted you to marry an European prince or duke and you did not
I’m not sure she wanted me to get married at all. Or, at least, I don’t think she thought I would find somebody who could put up with me.
I don’t think she thought I would find somebody who could put up with me. – I assume this was pre boob job (I am never sure how far I can go with these jokes )
*looks at boobs*
I could use a lift.
I am not addicted to having a house, it was more of a rhetorical “Am I addicted to having such a large and nice house?”
No, I understood, which was why I said “however lovely”. But I think that success and stoicism can be construed to be at odds with one another. Would we all have to be Diogenes to be stoic? Would we all have to be Job?
Rolling with the punches goes both ways, up and down. If you lost your house tomorrow, could you find other lodging? And if it was inadequate (other than a roof), would you gripe and moan about it? To me, that’s what stoicism is. Being knocked down (temporarily) and just rolling with it with grace.
It’s not that being successful is against Stoicism, it’s being attached to that success and its benefits to the point of losing yourself and your principles, I think. Others have had different interpretations.
We have to have a measure of success. For the most part we have to be competitive, even if it’s only with our selves. It’s not an addiction, it’s a worthy goal, to be as comfortable as our motivations will take us.
I think being “addicted” to one’s necessities (however lovely they may be) is stretching that word so far it’ll break.
A really nice house on a lake isn’t really a necessity (and neither is my really nice house in the desert). Everyone defines their necessities differently, but “well, I need shelter” isn’t the same as “I need this house”. I try to remind myself “We won’t miss any meals. We won’t sleep on the ground.” to try to bolster my remaining scraps of moral courage.
Exactly this.
I am in the same boat. Nice house, but what would it take for me to walk away from it? Or should I just walk away from situations that threaten my standard of living? Which is more important, a particular job, or a house?
Thanks, Ron!
I like Jan 13 best. Important to not get too invested in things that are beyond control. Set the example, remain consistent to principles and Truth and go fucking live.
I didn’t comment there, but I really liked the truck article from last night. I had some vivid flashbacks of working on my old Tahoe and recognizing the moment is moves into “project” territory!
Jan 13th is one of the simplest, yet hardest maxims.
Once I get back to working on my truck, I have a new definition of “project” the head was removed and a head bolt hole had to be Heli-Coiled.
I am about 3 or 4 days away from firing her up and I can’t do anything right now.
“We must give up many things to which we are addicted, considering them to be good.” ehm no i like whisky
Whisky addict!
…
I’ll take that whisky off your hands, for your own good, of course…
I struggle with the reputation part.
When the old lady down the street started slandering my wife and I, I became exceedingly angry about the damage to our reputations. I wanted some payback, still do really.
burn her house down
also stoicism is a form of toxic masculinity
Oh, big time. It gets all the usual suspects up in arms.
isn’t it better than rage though?
i dunno. i’m asking.
checking privilege is preferred
It is better than rage. My rage hurts me, not the focus of my rage.
I try to remember this, but sometimes you have to let it flow!
Why do you think we like it so much?
Sorry, this is OT, but if this is true, holy fuck… Toxteth linked to the site in the morning links.
https://www.howbadismybatch.com/pfizertoxicity.pdf
https://www.howbadismybatch.com/deathbylottery.pdf
The only way I can interpret this data is that Pfizer and Moderna are running tolerance studies* on the vaccines during the rollout using the general population as their guinea pigs.
*determining dosage limits and toxicity
The “emergency authorization” means by definition that the clinical trials are still in progress, on you and me.
(Well, if I took the sacrament.)
Varying dosage levels and seeing who drops dead is way, way outside informed consent.
To be fair, I didn’t read the links. Just spitballing in general.
I wasn’t really disagreeing with you, I’m just gobsmacked at how insanely unethical and straight up evil all of this is.
Nothing is unethical when you control the ethicists.
Just do the opposite, George Costanza.
Sorry for the tardy drop; just now saw it on dailysceptic.org .
My second dose is #1 on the Moderna charts.
Good times.
I wonder if anyone has compiled similar stats for J&J?
https://www.howbadismybatch.com/janssen.html
It appears to have a similar distribution. Small subset of lots with most adverse events reported.
These are different effects right, from the Pfizer and Moderna. Given that those two are mRNA specifically and J&J/Jannsen is not.
They only differ in delivery mechanism. All of them are gene therapies which hijack your cells to spit out spike protein.
And forcing your cells to produce a foreign, toxic protein that your immune system then attacks (along with the cells producing it) appears to be the problem.
As such, the adverse events are varied across multiple biological systems but have a common underlying theme, cell level damage, particularly to the vascular system.
The mRNA is arguably a significantly different mechanism.
After all, all other vaccines also trigger an immune response.
The adenovirus vaccine (J&J) operates using the same theory, just with a different method of delivering the instructions to your cells. They’re all gene therapy methods.
The root problem appears to be two fold.
1. The spike protein has toxic characteristics.
2. You’re inducing your own cells to manufacture the spike protein which then targets the immune system towards those cells.
With traditional vaccines, you get an immune response only to the injected material. With these you get an immune response to what your cells are coerced into making. Your immune system cannot distinguish the two and can be induced into damaging your own body.
I’ve had discussions with some biotech guys and they’ve asserted that mRNA and adenovirus methods are safe based on decades of research, but there is a catch. These methods have never been used to coerce your cells into creating a foreign protein like spike. They’ve always been used to coerce your body into producing a protein that you’re lacking due to a genetic defect, a protein that your body wouldn’t reject.
Thanks for enacting my labor, dude.
1st dose was 201A21A. ADRE 1694, deaths 19. Location: San Diego, June 21
Booster dose was 204B21A. ADRE 131, deaths 1. Location: Pahrump, Nov 21
Well, I had no reaction at all to my 1st dose but my 2nd dose made me feel like hammered dog shit (aches, fevers, chills) for 24 hours. But I’m still here.
I had the same reaction to my initial J&J shot that you had to the booster.
Felt like I had the flu all day Saturday.
Right now my plan is to get fired before I accept another shot.
Had no effect on me at all.
Same. My wife and I each had the J&J and felt absolutely noth–
*drops dead*
/starts picking up Tundra’s stuff
You can expect cumulative effects with each successive dose. The rate of adverse events on the second dose is noticeably higher across all manufacturers. This comports with the theory of an autoimmune reaction to the cells producing spike protein. It’s like an allergy, it gets worse with each successive exposure.
https://www.howbadismybatch.com/incremental.pdf
This sounds very plausible. My immune system was loaded for bear when it perceived my booster dose.
I won’t get another.
The only reason I got the booster was because I suspect the federal govt to require a booster sooner or later and I didn’t want to be forced to take the Moderna or Pfizer.
Looking over the lists in that table reveals that the data are not really sorted very well. Some are entered properly by lot code and some just say “Janssen” or “Johnson and Johnson” so I’ll take it with a grain of salt.
Also unknown are percentages. When the number of adverse reactions per lot is given, the obvious next question is “out of how many shots given from that batch?” Also J&J was given in several third world countries because it doesn’t need refrigeration (unlike the mRNA ones) and was conveniently single dose. Do we have any stats on international results?
I’m curious enough to poke around the internets for more data…
Looks like he only has partial lot size data and only from Pfizer. It’s in the top links.
There are definitely some outliers to the expected linear increase.
Love this, straight from the FDA website:
totality of the available data? I’m expecting smooches and a hth with that!
clear evidence? uh huh
may be effective oh, well you done sold me now!
JFC, what a sham.
totality of the available data? I’m expecting smooches and a hth with that!
I’m expecting Fauci to start fucking Morgan Fairchild.
He needs to be able to bench-press her first, though.
Like masks, I have yet to see a study that “proves” masks work that aren’t full of weasel words like this.
Except the NC school one, but they didn’t look at schools without masks.
Yikes, my Pfizer doses 1 and 2 are on the list (but not the booster). Given that I’m in a risk group (by age only) and my wife has several co-morbidities, I’m still OK (barely) with going through the booster, but it’s time to draw the line.
I don’t understand how they’re picking specific batches out of that group presented in the “pfizertoxicity.pdf” file based on the data presented in the file.
For instance, given this information (from page 2 of the file):
EK91231 3608
ER2613 3373
EN6201 2941
EN5318
They say “mathematically sequential” as if it means something.
fuck. given this data:
EK9231 3608
ER2613 3373
EN6201 2941
EN5318 2876
EN6205 2757
er8732 2704
Where the second column is purported to be som multiple of a baseline toxicity, why would they select apparently random batches (EN6201, EN5318, EN6205 , for instance, but not the others) and say they’re particularly toxic when they aren’t even the highest numbers they’ve calculated. That file makes little sense to me.
I’m not sold on trying to calculate risk based on the codes themselves. I’d just look at the lot results.
I share the same fatherly struggles every day. Of our three, the oldest two (24 and 21) have moved out and are struggling with all the same issues that caused conflict when they lived with us. While our home is more peaceful, it’s sad and frustrating when we talk to them and hear about what they’re doing. It’s hard not to keep asking if we did something wrong as parents.
If it’s anything like my kids (and me, when I was their age), it’s short-sightedness. They cannot see the bigger picture no matter how you frame it. Future? No, there is only now. Past? No, there is only now and “why am I being punished so far after the fact? I thought that was over with.”
Our daughter has taken our advice to do 401(k) and take advantage of the employee match, something neither my husband or I did when we were young because we didn’t see the big picture. OTOH, nobody actually sat us down and outlined it for us, but whatever.
When I was in high school, college was the goal. No major, no real plan, and absolutely zero thought as to what I wanted to happen AFTER college or how I was going to do that. I just knew I wanted a nice corner office clad in mahogany.
Another problem is that neither of them really know what they want. IME, getting what you want is the easy part. Knowing WHAT you want is the hard part and I find that most people don’t actually know.
Not knowing what they want? That sounds right. We make the same offer to both of them, go to a local college and we’ll help you pay for it, and meanwhile we will not charge rent. At this point both of them could have graduated with a useful degree or learned a marketable skill (the oldest wanted to be a nurse) and have a job making good money. But they both pissed it away. And now they both work in grocery stores and complain about how hard it is to be an adult.
I’m hoping XY’s stint at Walmart will make enough of an impact about what he DOESN’T want that he’ll do something about it.
XX is not suited for college, that much is for sure. She’s got her forklift certification now and at the moment is waiting for the opportunity to go full time. She pays rent and her share of the utilities. That said, she is mired in intractable depression, so every day is torture for her. It’s almost all she can do to get herself to work.
I’m hoping XY’s stint at Walmart will make enough of an impact about what he DOESN’T want that he’ll do something about it.
The school I went to – Northeastern – is (was?) a big co-op school: you went for 5 years and spent 6 months in school, then 6 months doing a paid internship (starting in the second year).
Those jobs were invaluable in learning what I _didn’t_ want to do as much as learning what I would like to do.
e.g., I did not want to commute in to Wall St. every day from Long Island. That sucked.
In my yoot, my dad taught me how to read a stock table, so I got the bright idea I wanted to be a stock broker. I had no clue what that meant. Some years later, I went for an interview to actually be a stock broker and found out it’s a glorified salesman. I noped out of that right quick.
It’s said that sometimes the most valuable part of a Mormon kid’s mission is having the sales training.
I was a Finance/MIS guy & likely would have ended up working with quants had I stayed on that path (which was still kinda new at the time). I probably would have been miserable. Giant piles of money aside.
Sales is an important skill to have even if you don’t make it your profession. There’s a bit of sales in most of the jobs we do.
Sorry to hear about the i.d. Maybe I or we could help on t’ forum.
I sincerely suggest that you get her to try Ketamine infusion therapy. Stuff has been a life saver for my wife.
My brother had that and I’ve been thinking about suggesting it to her. How often does she have one?
Initial therapy was 3 weeks at twice a week.
Running about once every 10 days.
I saw evidence after one treatment, she admitted to feeling better at second.
Should have a family member with her during treatment to make sure she does not fall into a “k-hole”.
Its like chemo for the brain, its not a fun trip for sure. But effective.
I’m hoping XY’s stint at Walmart will make enough of an impact about what he DOESN’T want that he’ll do something about it.
Pater Dean made a point (which he told me about long after the fact) of getting me really hard, dirty jobs as a high schooler and college student. Farm hand, plant maintenance monkey, construction gofer, etc. He wanted me to know what life would be like if I screwed up. Seems to have worked.
And now they both work in grocery stores and complain about how hard it is to be an adult.
Yeah, that would not gain a sympathetic ear from me. I’ll talk to you when you have something worthwhile to say.
My daughter is 33, wait that can’t be right, *Does the math* she is 33 and didn’t really figure it out until she was 26 or so. Now she has a good ob and a nice husband.
Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee results with my other 2 kids.
a good ob
There’s really no substitute when your water breaks.
*job*
They are taught that there is no bigger picture by people for whom there really is no bigger picture (teachers). I am convinced that the average teacher is in a state of neoteny; they never grew up (never had to, really) and so impart a perpetual infantile naivete on their students. Of course, this is very harsh on teachers, when in fact, they are still the least bad part of the education “system”.
Another problem is that neither of them really know what they want.
Most 18 year olds don’t, but it’s good yours are not following the crowd into college debt.
My brother’s youngest just got an associates degree from a state school and he’s done (at least for now). He’s _really_ not a student nor a white-collar guy, so they’re going to skip throwing more money at schooling. They got off light, w/ the in-state rates (NC).
No. That, I wouldn’t allow unless they came up with something useful like STEM or healthcare. I don’t see that happening.
Knowing WHAT you want is the hard part and I find that most people don’t actually know.
I think I would have answered in, at best/most, vague terms had some asked me what I wanted.
On the other hand, had you asked me what I didn’t want, I knew that.
If it’s anything like my kids (and me, when I was their age), it’s short-sightedness. They cannot see the bigger picture no matter how you frame it. Future? No, there is only now. Past? No, there is only now and “why am I being punished so far after the fact? I thought that was over with.”
Mo, when I saw that I was reminded of one of Robert Heinlein’s aphorisms: “I shot an error into the air: It’s still falling…everywhere” We can only make decisions based on what we know, or think we know…and sometimes, that isn’t enough. We can only take our best shot and abide by the consequences.
Raising kids is a real challenge. Remembering some of the things I did growing up helps to ease the pain, a little. With that knowledge we try to help our own kids through those difficult years to avoid our shortfalls. It never seems to work. My kids are in their middle late 50s and still face challenges that need to be overcome. They do recognize, however, that their problems have been created by themselves and have stopped blaming me.
My grand children, all in their 20s, may have learned something from their parents, like what not to do. It’s easier to be a grand parent than a parent though.
I’m enjoying your articles, Ron, even if I still ignore most people’s advice.
Fourscore, I need to tell you again how much I appreciate you and your phlegmatic outlook.
Thanks, Mojo. Getting old has some advantages. Having made so many mistakes on my own but also learning from them helps.
Looking through the lens of my son’s behavior, I’ve had to stop blaming my dad for a whole lot of things. This is a difficult pill for me to swallow.
I have the most problems when my kids are stubborn assholes, and my wife loves to remind me that they are just like me in a lot of ways.
I don’t care if you listen, just happy you enjoyed it.
Nice work.
All this helps remind me not to be a hostile bastard 99% of the time.
It doesn’t always work, but it does help.
Same here, it hasn’t eliminated that part of me, but it has helped control it. (sometimes)
Brooks’ed it, meant as a reply to Aloysious.
Heh.
The shadow of Brooks looks large.
What am I addicted to? I really like my job and the paycheck lets me indulge in my great addiction, my truck.
I have a paycheck addiction.
We don’t control our body
“Control” – I’m skeptical. If you don’t own yourself, what do you own? Ownership implies control. Or are they talking about things like say the results of another person’s actions?
As far as the country goes, I don’t recognize it from just a few years ago.
#metoo
You can’t control when arthritis hits, and family history may have something to do with your heart attack. Also, you get old.
Yeah…
Serious response below.
Facetious response: One of my grandfathers always used to say, “Never get old.” I always thought he could full of it.
I don’t mind the number; it’s the decay.
“It ain’t the years, it’s the mileage” – Indiana Jones
When I was having knee problems this was the conversation as the orthopedist looked at my MRI:
Orthopedist: If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this was a 60 year old’s knee
Me: I’m 37
O: Let me guess, you’re either Infantry or Artillery
M: I’m Arty
O: Yeah, we get a lot of you guys
He did get me on SinVisc injections which kept me from being medically retired, so I owe him big time.
(functional, not cosmetic)
I’ve told my kids that for years, but I don’t think they’re listening. They probably think I could full of it also.
Right now, I am stuck on the couch, if I really controlled my own body, I would make the swelling go down and enjoy my life.
Sorry you are still having trouble.
Yeah, I should have thought more about external stuff instead of getting hung up on ownership.
I’m mostly pain free, so that’s an improvement.
OK, I got hung up on ownership.
KFC’s new meatless fried chicken unsuitable for vegetarians.
I’m going to assume it’s unsuitable for humans too.
People Eat Crappy Food
Not surprising that many outlets won’t have a fryer to dedicate to them.
I know we have a lot of vegans and vegetarians here, have anyone tried this?
There is one commercial for a vegetarian burger that sets my teeth on edge. There is a young girl who says “I’m a kid and if I like it…” and her voice kind of trails off.
Something about it just rubs me the wrong way.
Do children often rub you the wrong way?
Don’t you have some firsting to prepare for?
That was a good one, gotta admit.
Or the “right” way?
What is wrong with you people?
Pull up a chair. This could take awhile.
I really don’t want an answer, do I?
Cuz no kid actually talks like that.
Fries have always shared oil with fish and chicken, so what’s new? I know a dirty secret about pizza toppings too: vegetarians might want to order plain cheese, if anything.
Depends on the place, and how the stations are set up. I know at McDonald’s there were different fryers for different items (fish, chicken patty/nugget, fries). Any veggie burger would probably be dropped on the same grill as the rest of the burgers though (even if there was a different one… because fast food workers).
That is definitely a problem in many scripts written for kids these days. There was a commercial for a truck that aired throughout the holidays where a kid does a “Wait—what?” to his dad.
I don’t find portrayals of little kids as sarcastic fucks to be appealing at all.
Eh, that goes back decades. Jennifer Keaton, for one.
Maybe not appealing, but unfortunately all too accurate these days.
Not a vegan, but I understand the reasons for doing it.
I don’t understand why they would eat a highly processed food that mimics meat.
I had the “precocious kid” genre of commercials and shows. They’re all grating.
“I’m a kid and if I like it…”
Kids like hotdogs with ketchup. Kids don’t like scotch. I’m not going to kids for recommendations.
s/I had/I hate/
I did put a possible meetup at Gourmeltz on Feb 26th for the NoVA and Eastern VA glibs in the forum.
One of the disappointments to me throughout this whole Covid thing has been that my sister has seemed to fall for the Fauci narrative, hook line, and sinker, no matter how much he contradicts himself and flip-flops.
But then I remember that she is a teacher (web development at a community and non-traditional college) and that she is thus a member of a teachers union. She is intelligent and generally has good observational skills, but daily indoctrination takes its toll, I suppose…
Same with my mom.
She’s not a teacher, just a democrat.
The last 2 years have disabused me of the notion she was a thinking person.
After she says a sentence, I swear you can hear a little bell and “This is CNN”.
My animal-loving mom hadn’t heard about the beagles. I told her she didn’t want to know.
After she says a sentence, I swear you can hear a little bell and “This is CNN”.
I have a relative that parrots all the approved talking points about Lil Rona and dismisses anything I say contrary.
This relative claims to not watch the news.
Hmm….
I think I told you this when we had lunch, but my mom says the same thing.
Then she’ll accuse me of watching Fox News even though I don’t and a lot of what I say goes against them. But since she never looks outside her bubble, she “knows” what right wingers are thinking.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad and predictable.
I have a relative that parrots…
I first read this as I have a parrot that relates… and was picturing a parrot watching CNN.
Good point, we need immunity for mask manufacturers.
On that point, I got my Unmask and I don’t feel any heat around my nose. I had a minimally compliant mask, but I still felt heat and it still gave me a headache.
I wore the Unmask in the VA hospital for my last appointment, but never covered my nose, so I don’t know if it will give me headaches or not.
I’ll find out on Jan 21 when I go to the ultra sound Nazis again.
Some jackass at the gym was wearing a “Science is not a liberal conspiracy” t-shirt.
Much funny.
How wit.
Tell him you agree. A liberal conspiracy is not science.
Distinction without a difference
One of the disappointments to me throughout this whole Covid thing has been that my sister has seemed to fall for the Fauci narrative, hook line, and sinker, no matter how much he contradicts himself and flip-flops.
My brother. And he was the avid science student in high school. PBS and BBC every fucking night rots your brain, children.
I don’t understand why they would eat a highly processed food that mimics meat.
That’s the part that gets me. Don’t want to eat meat (for whatever reason- it doesn’t matter)? Fine. But why would you want to eat fake meat?
Does not compute.
Ethics? Needing protein?
I can sort of understand, even if I disagree. They think meat is morally unethical. So they don’t want to eat meat. But, meat tastes freaking amazing!. So, they’re stuck in a quandary of doing what they think is morally right and enjoying a sensory experience they really, really enjoy. Faux meat (if it tastes good) resolves that quandary.
Also, you get old.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard somebody say, “If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself”…
Wow. Yeadon’s got some stones. Who wants to start the dead pool betting on him?
https://www.globalresearch.ca/top-public-health-figures-accused-genocide-historic-complaint-sent-international-criminal-court/5765804
Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so cynical, but I don’t see this going anywhere.
It’ll get made fun of and the judges will excuse every thing because “worst pandemic EVER!!!”.
Highly unlikely, but he’s going on the record.
That’s worth something in of itself.
I really hope I’m wrong.
Sent link to my Pa. Maybe he’ll sign up and post a comment 🙂
“Everyone be cool, KK’s dad is here!”
Do we have to look busy?
Or is that just Rufus?
Just Rufus. He already knows his daughter consorts with a bunch of slackers.
Rufus’s daughter?!
I was hoping nobody would call out that syntactical ambiguity. You know exactly who I mean from the context, Ms. Pedant-pants. 😉
Dude, no. I’m asking which MLW/unicorn Rufus’s daughter is.
Quick, hide the SugarFree posts under the rug!
I am addicted to working, unlike many here *lights Rufus signal*
Thanks for this series, Ron. I’m not complaining, but I realize now that I had everything I needed (materially) when I was in my early 20’s making peanuts and sharing an apartment with three other knuckleheads. All of the stuff I’ve accumulated over the years is nice, but in 45 years only my wife and kids are of any real value. I would not miss the other stuff.
Lately I’ve been applying the brakes on a lot of things by telling myself I have enough. Like when I start looking at new cars, I remind myself the car I have is enough. When I want to buy a coffee somewhere, I remind myself the coffee I have at home is enough.
I’m trying to buy only necessities this month. I think sometimes I acquire things simply out of boredom.
24 hour rule is helpful, too.
I know I do.
Online shopping is dangerous.
Especially drunk.
I got banned from Ebay while drinking by the wife after I bought a collection of beer glasses just because it had a Sam Adams Oktoberfest mug in it.
I think my parent’s hand-to-mouth ways during my childhood conditioned me to be reluctant to buy things. Even when I can easily afford them.
Oddly, I seem to have no problem spending equivalent money on experiences (e.g., fancy dinners and/or wine & booze)
Travel is mine. I’m a little astonished how much we spend on that.
It’ll get made fun of and the judges will excuse every thing because “worst pandemic EVER!!!”.
The end justifies the means. Orders must be followed.
This is true, I got married at 22 and we only had one income. Bought our first house at 34 and it was 1200 sqft.
My garage now is 890 sqft, it would suck to go backwards, but it would not end me.
Heh, you garage is larger than my condo. By a decent bit.
We downsized significantly when we moved out here.
I fucking love it. Instead of projects, I go hiking or fishing.
I like working in the yard and all the other assorted projects that come up.
It seems Colorado suits you.
Honeymoon, I’m sure. But after 30 years of fairly high maintenance properties, cars, etc., the break is nice.
My older brother recently sold his 3,800 sq. ft. place and moved into a 1,200 sq. ft. rental. “I have my weekends back”.
If I don’t have something lined up on a weekend, it bothers me a little.
Even if it’s just driving the wife to do shopping and us having lunch together.
These last 4 weeks of being couch bound are rough.
Have more sex.
I have never really followed much of anything in a formalized manner, but I figured out “Stop driving yourself crazy over things you have no control over” a long time ago.
That’s not to say I don’t have relapses.
Figuring it out was the easy part, actually doing it still kicks my ass sometimes.
Same.
What I know intellectually still sometimes gets overwhelmed by rage.
I’m proud to say I only have that kind of an episode once a decade or so.
I’m ashamed to say that I actually have those episodes, ever.
**HEAVY SIGH**